The Orioles have taken another college bat in the first round of the MLB draft.

With the 19th overall pick, the Orioles selected Ike Irish, an outfielder and catcher from Auburn University. A powerful left-handed hitter, Irish slashed .364/.469/.710 last season, with 19 home runs, a 1.179 OPS and a 14.8% strikeout rate.

“When I saw him in person, I walked away thinking, ‘This guy is one of the best pure hitters in the draft and he’s not going to get to us,’” said Matt Blood, the Orioles’ vice president of player development and domestic scouting said. “I told our group, ‘This guy is too good to get to us.’”

But Irish did fall to them, despite being ranked the No. 11 prospect in the draft, according to MLB. Scouts give him an overall grade of 55, with a hit grade of 60, power 55 and arm 55.

Primarily a catching prospect prior to his junior season, Irish spent most of last season in right field after fracturing his right scapula when he was hit by a pitch in March. It’s possible that Irish continues in the outfield once he starts professional baseball. The injury was not a concern, Blood said.

Irish also has experience at first base and left field, and Blood said the Orioles will explore all of his defensive options.

“I think it’s exciting the versatility that he brings to the roster,” Blood said. “He can catch one day, he could play first one day, he could play in the outfield one day, and that’s a pretty valuable type of player, especially if he’s one of the best hitters on the team.”

Irish joins Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Vance Honeycutt as college hitters selected by general manager Mike Elias in the first round of the draft. Elias has never drafted a pitcher with his top pick.

Irish is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan. His father, Jeff, played in the Blue Jays’ minor league system.

Ike Irish led St. Mary’s Prep to three straight state championships before he went to Auburn, where he quickly cemented himself. He was a freshman All-American and followed that with first-team Southeastern Conference recognition in his sophomore year.

Last season, his best yet, he was a consensus All-American and ranked second in the SEC in batting average (.398), on-base percentage (.480), slugging percentage (.852) and home runs (13). Irish also played two summers in the Cape Cod Baseball League, largely considered the best summer college league.

“First and foremost, we love his bat,” Blood said. “He’s a very polished bat, both on, really on all aspects of how you would want a hitter to be. Contact, power, swing decisions. Just really, really exciting hitter.”

The slot value for the pick is $4,420,900. The Orioles, with $19.145 million, have the largest bonus pool, giving them some flexibility as they navigate the draft.

The Orioles had six more picks on the first night of the draft, and, with their next three selections, they again strayed away from picking a pitcher. They did eventually take two pitchers — Joseph Dzierwa, a left-hander from Michigan State, at No. 58 and JT Quinn, a right-hander from the University of Georgia, at No. 69.

“You never know who is going to be at the top of your board when your picks come around,” Blood said. “We get asked that question a lot: ‘When are you going to take pitchers? When are you going to take pitchers? Those guys were there. They were there at the top of our board when it was our turn to pick.”

With the 30th pick, their compensation for Corbin Burnes signing with the Diamondbacks, the Orioles selected a second catcher, Caden Bodine from Coastal Carolina. Bodine, a switch hitter, has more upside behind the plate than Irish does and is seen as an excellent pitch framer.

Bodine hit .318 during his junior season as he led Costal Carolina to the College World Series. The Orioles liked how polished he is, Blood said, and how accurate he throws.

“He’s just a very effective catcher,” Blood said. “And then, when you think about him being a switch hitter and having really high contact rates and hitting line drives and just being a guy who’s going to be productive, you start to add all that up and think, ‘Yeah, this is a guy who’s going to be a major leaguer and has a chance to be a real impact player for the team.’”

At No. 31, the compensation pick for Anthony Santander signing with the Blue Jays, the Orioles took Wehiwa Aloy, a shortstop from Arkansas who was the 2025 SEC player of the year.

“We really like just the way he goes about playing the game and his skill set,” Blood said. “So we see a lot of upside with him, and we did not expect him to get where we were able to draft him, and we’re very excited to be able to get him.”

And at No. 37, the competitive balance pick they acquired by trading Bryan Baker on Thursday, the Orioles drafted Slater de Brun, a high school outfielder from Bend, Oregon. He is also a country music singer who goes by Lil Slayyy.

“I wasn’t quite putting too much time into grading out his music, but I do think it’s cool that he has that kind of personality,” Blood said.

This article has been updated.